Zurich Insurance has applied for licences to expand into Chinese cities

Zurich Insurance has applied for licences to expand into Chinese cities as part of a renewed focus on emerging markets, according to chief executive Martin Senn.

The Swiss firm's Chinese business is one of several areas the company wants to grow on the back of declining premiums in its core European markets, Senn said in an interview with Bloomberg television in Hong Kong.

Zurich Insurance also wants to become "a leading insurer" in Malaysia and is looking to expand in Indonesia, he said.

Mergers and acquisitions may provide another channel for growth, but the firm will not participate in asset bidding wars, Senn added.

"We are seeing a decline in premium income in Europe, and it is fair to say that growth prospects in Europe are limited," said chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier in an interview in June.

"There is less of a need in Latin America than in certain countries in Asia Pacific, because we already have a pretty strong position after the Santander transaction."

The environment in the Eurozone will remain challenging for quite some time, and interest rates may stay low, according to Senn.

Zurich Insurance has adjusted its business model and strategy to meet the greater "tail risk", he added. INSURANCE INSIGHT

Strange But True Aviation News! GBJscoop

Strange But True Aviation News

Posted by Rupa Haria 2:55 AM on Aug 24, 2012

In-flight maps on British Airways’ seat back screens alert passengers to the location of “Stansted” as they approach southern England, but it’s the wrong one. The map shows a small village in Kent, rather than the more well-known Stansted in Essex, from which Stansted airport takes its name. The airline says it is talking to the firm that created the mapping system as the current map “could be confusing,” reports the Press Association. 
One woman’s Facebook campaign against Ryanair’s online boarding pass policy has attracted more than 350,000 ‘likes’ reports the Telegraph. Despite Ryanair outlining its charges on its web site during the booking process, the passenger checked in but failed to pre-print her boarding passes online. She was forced to pay £60 per person at the airport and later exclaimed on her Facebook page: “I had to pay €300 for them to print out a piece of paper!”
A French woman flying from Lahore to Paris with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) fell asleep mid-flight, and didn’t wake up again until the plane was on its way back to Lahore after a two hour stopover at Charles de Gaulle, reports BBC News. The woman also failed to inform cabin crew of her situation on the return flight and was only discovered by immigration officials after disembarking in Lahore. PIA is investigating how ground crew in Paris failed to notice the sleeping woman during the aircraft’s turnaround and wants the party responsible for the mishap to pay for the cost of flying the woman back to Paris. 
A passenger who asked for a blanket on a Monarch flight claims she was told by a stewardess she couldn’t have one due to strict health and safety rules. But she could instead buy one from the stewardess for five pounds, reports The Sun. The woman complained to the UK’s Health & Safety Executive, which ruled against Monarch Airlines, calling the blanket rule “a cover-up for poor customer service and/or a commercial decision”. 
Passengers on a Qantas flight from Dallas to Brisbane have described it as “the flight from hell”. A catalogue of errors that led to an 18-hour delay included a two-hour delay on the ground at Dallas Fort Worth, during which time the pilot was “too busy to talk" to passengers. The actual delay was due to the crew having a heated argument in the cockpit over take-off calculations, reports Brisbane Times, which adds that the airline has stood down the captain and second officer from operational duties. 
A family of four stranded at the airport in Salt Lake City for six days are finally home, reports NY Daily News. They were using buddy passes provided by a JetBlue employee, but the busy travel season put them at the bottom of the standby waitlist for several days, forcing the family to sleep at the airport. A Good Samaritan finally came forward and paid for their flights home after seeing their story on the news.
And finally, as the silly season continues in the British press, private pilot and well-known aviation photographer Mark Wagner has found himself in the Daily Mail. The paper's website reports that Mark's two-seater Cessna 150 was carrying two passengers (with Mark piloting) and describes how the two passengers suffered turbulence and panic attacks as the flight "turned into a nightmare after it flew into a tornado."

Setting the record straight, Mark tells me there wasn't any turbulence or panic attack. "We did have a great evening flying round the tornado for nearly three hours with about six different passengers - lots of rainbows all around too - magical stuff."  As for the quotes in the Daily Mail? Chinese whispers amongst those on the ground waiting to fly, says Mark.

No crisis for 787 despite big Qantas cancellation from Flight pro

ANALYSIS: No crisis for 787 despite big Qantas cancellation

By:   MAX KINGSLEY-JONES LONDON

18 hours ago 

Source: 

Boeing has suffered its largest Dreamliner cancellation so far after Qantas scrapped its firm order for 35 787-9s worth $8.5 billion, taking the cumulative cancellation tally beyond 200.

However, with the move to terminate the Dreamliners on order for its mainline division being triggered by the Australian flag carrier's financial woes, the cancellation is not seen as having any major repercussions for the 787 programme.

Boeing secured the landmark 787 order from Qantas back in December 2005 with a deal for 65 aircraft for its mainline and Jetstar operations, when the Dreamliner saw off the rival Airbus A350 in an intense sales campaign. The Dreamliner was selected "as the cornerstone of Qantas's domestic and international fleet renewal programme".

At the time, Airbus was offering the old A330-dervived A350 and the loss of Qantas to the 787 likely helped spur Toulouse's decision to adopt the all-new XWB design.

Qantas was originally due to receive its first 787-8s in July 2009 - around a year after the first Jetstar delivery - with the first -9s schedule for 2011. But the extensive programme delays lead to Qantas cancelling its first 15 orders in 2009, by which time the deliveries had been subject to extensive rescheduling.

The first Jetstar 787-8 is now due to arrive in 2013 and Qantas has accelerated 50 787-9 options/purchase rights by two years, with deliveries available from 2016.

Eddy Pieniazek, who is director of consultancy at Flightglobal's advisory arm Ascend, says the 787 delays will have helped Qantas to extract itself from its contract: "Because of the delays, Qantas probably hasn't been as far into the pre-delivery payment schedule as it could have been. The delays may have allowed Qantas the option to cancel and recover pre-delivery payments and compensation without too much of a penalty."

And despite its size, the cancellation is unlikely have any major impact on the 787 programme: "Although the Qantas cancellation is a big number, it's not happened because the aircraft isn't performing, so we don't see any major repercussions," says Pieniazek. "Boeing has over 800 deliveries to work through and we could even see Qantas or Jetstar coming back for more later in the programme. Qantas still have 50 options, they will be back."

The 787 has accumulated 216 cancellations since the first in 2009, which have mainly come after airlines adjusted capacity growth/fleet replacement plans in the wake of the delivery delays.

Other major airline 787 terminations include 15 each by S7 Airlines and China Eastern Airlines as well as lessors LCAL (16), DAE (15) and ALAFCO (14). Additionally an undisclosed customer, believed to be RBS Aviation Capital, cancelled 25 orders in 2009. With the Qantas cancellation, total 787 net orders now stand at 824 aircraft.

Oman Insurance outlook revised to stable after 'robust underwriting'

by

• Stephanie Denton
• 24 Aug 2012

The Oman Insurance Company PSC (United Arab Emirates) has had its outlook revised from negative to stable after a robust underwriting performance.

AM Best Europe said also affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of "a".

The agency said the ratings reflect OIC's strong level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, robust underwriting performance and leading local business profile.

Offsetting rating factors include a historically volatile and concentrated investment portfolio and execution risks surrounding a significant corporate wide transformation.

The outlook for OIC's ratings has been revised to stable following a significant improvement in its investment guidelines and the initiation of numerous initiatives focused on improving risk management, internal procedures and controls.

In light of new investment guidelines and the intentions of senior management, AM Best anticipates that OIC will divest from some of its more illiquid equity positions over the short term. This will benefit OIC by significantly improving its level of risk-adjusted capitalisation and reducing the potential volatility of both its risk-adjusted capitalisation and overall financial performance. AM Best anticipates that the company's internally generated capital will sufficiently support new business growth over the coming years.

During the past year, OIC's senior management team has almost entirely changed. The company's new personnel bring with them significant experience in both the international and local insurance markets. OIC's new management team has completed a review of its strategy and all of its functions.

Changes implemented or that are underway include: revised investment and underwriting guidelines; a revised reinsurance structure; strengthened internal controls; the centralisation of functions such as pricing, reserving and claims; a revised distribution strategy; and an enhanced enterprise-wide risk management framework.

OIC's underwriting performance remained strong in 2011, with the company reporting a combined ratio for non-life business (excluding medical) of 71% (2010: 78%). Offsetting OIC's good underwriting results was a marginal investment return and significant non-technical expenses. Results for the first half of 2012 indicate a moderate decline in underwriting profitability, although the results are expected to remain good and in line with that of 2010.

AM Best anticipates that OIC's overall investment return will remain marginal in 2012 as the company modifies its assets holdings, although improvements can be expected from 2013 and onwards.

The company is expected to strengthen its position locally and increase its level of geographic diversification over the medium term.

Positive actions on OIC's ratings can arise over the medium term if the company is able to develop its business profile in line with its business plans and embed sophisticated enterprise-wide risk management within management's decision making process, while at the same time reducing various concentration risks, maintaining a strong level of risk-adjusted capitalisation and good profitability.

There will be negative pressure on OIC's ratings if it is unable to maintain its current good level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, financial performance or business profile.

 

Insurance Insight

Ping An Group sees 9.4% growth in net profit

by

• Stephanie Denton
• 24 Aug 2012

Ping An Insurance Company of China has maintained growth above the industry average amid complex economic and market environment for the first half of 2012.

Insurance, banking and investment, all achieved healthy and steady growth. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was RMB13.959bn, up 9.4% year on year.

As at 30 June 2012, total assets of the group amounted to RMB2,644.999bn, an increase of 15.7% as compared with the beginning of 2012.

Net profit of Ping An's property & casualty business grew by 2.0%, with the combined ratio maintained at what the insurer said was 'a healthy level'.

Insurance Insight

Fleet Growth - July 2012 - flightglobal

By:   ANTOINE FAFARD LONDON

Commercial aircraft net orders came in at 389 new orders for July 2012. The high figures for the month are directly associated to the Farnborough International Airshow where strong transaction activities traditionally occur.

The highlight of the month was United Airlines’ order of 150 Boeing 737 Max aircraft. Air Lease Corporation and Virgin Australia also ordered the 737 Max with orders of 75 and 23 aircraft  respectively. Russia’s Utair ordered 20 Airbus A321s while Ilyushin Finance Company ordered ten Bombardier CSeries aircraft.

Boeing totalled 260 new orders in July while Airbus, Bombardier and ATR received 49, 31 and 16 respectively.

In the narrowbody market, 253 737s, 27 A320 family aircraft and 25 CSeries aircraft were ordered. The widebody orders of the month were for 22 A330s and seven 777s. In the regional market, the main orders were for 15 ATR72s and ten DHC-6 Twin Otters.

Overall, the commercial order backlog ended July at 10,209, up 277 on the previous month.

---

This article was put together by Flightglobal Insight using Flightglobal's Ascend and ACAS databases.

Airliner current market view – net orders
Source: Flightglobal's ACAS fleet database

Newman heads to Apollo - Says Inside Fac

BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Newman heads to Apollo - Says Inside Fac Matthew Newman, the former head of casualty at Catlin in London, has left to join Apollo Syndicate 1969 at Lloyd's in a move which indicates a significant expansion at the Names-backed outfit, Inside FAC can reveal. Apollo - backed by US insurance broking group Hays, Hannover Re and by Lloyd's Names - was launched by the former Argo International underwriter Nick Jones in 2009 with its main focus property direct and facultative business. Earlier this year it became part of Matt Fairfield's ANV when the start-up fought off stiff competition to acquire Flagstone's Lloyd's business with backing from Canadian state pension funds. Neman's arrival is one of the first high profile signings made by Apollo since the recruitment of David Ibeson, its new CEO who has also joined from Catlin, where he was headed the group's UK division. Filling Newman's role at Catlin will be Daniel Curran, who has been appointed head of casualty for its London based underwriting operations. As leader of the Casualty Business Group, Curran will have responsibility for a wide range of business classes underwritten by the Catlin Syndicate at Lloyd's and Catlin UK, including healthcare professional liability and US E&O. Curran joined Catlin in 2000 as an underwriting assistant on the healthcare professional liability account. He was promoted to class underwriter in 2003 and to senior class underwriter in 2009. It is understood that Apollo 1969 will continue to be managed by Flagstone Syndicate Management Limited for the foreseeable future, with existing contractual obligations honoured. According to sources, Apollo is expected to move towards creating its own managing agent, with 2014 the likely start date. Catlin declined to comment. Apollo was unavailable for comment.

Air Berlin deleverages via aircraft sales

Air Berlin further deleverages via aircraft sales

Air Berlin sold eight aircraft, worth €172.2 million ($211.4 million), during the second quarter as part of its ongoing deleveraging programme.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.

The sales, which have been recognised as available for sale in the financial statements of 30 June 2012, will ultimately result in a gain, says Air Berlin.

At the end of the second quarter, Air Berlin operated a fleet of 152 aircraft, down from 168 units at 30 June 2011.

During the 12-months period, Air Berlin's Boeing Next Generation net fleet was reduced by six units, two 737-700s and four 737-800s. Its A319 fleet now totals seven aircraft compared with 13 units last year. The A320 fleet was also reduced by seven units while the carrier took two additional A321s during the period. Air Berlin now operates 14 A330s, one additional unit compared with the end of the second quarter of 2011. During the past year, its Bombardier and Embraer regional fleets have remained stable at 17 aircraft.

Air Berlin has set up a €500 million net debt target for the end of this year. At the end of the first half its balance sheet accounted for €2.53 billion, down from €2.26 billion at 31 December 2011. Equity accounted for 4% while debt reached 96%. The carrier fixed assets accounted for 55% while liquid assets reached 12%. Other current asset represented 33%.

Chief executive officer Hartmut Medhorn says the carrier's equity improved by €60 million in the first half of July solely due to the fair value measurement of hedging instruments recognised in equity.

Pakistan's Airblue leases two Airbus A340-300s from ILFC

Pakistani carrier Airblue has signed an agreement with leasing firm International Lease Finance Corporation for two Airbus A340-300 aircraft.

Both aircraft are scheduled for delivery in August this year, says the airline.

 Sources tell us:

"The addition of the two Airbus A340 aircraft to our current fleet of next generation A320 aircraft is great news for Airblue," says Airblue's chairman and chief executive Tariq Chaudhary. He adds that it is part of the carrier's expansion plan to service all of its international markets.

UK CAA clears diabetic pilots and air traffic controllers

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced that pilots and air traffic control officers (ATCOs) with diabetes who use medication such as insulin can now be considered for medical certification due to improvements in treatment.

The Authority explains: "Until now, only a limited number of medications for the treatment of diabetes have been allowed for pilots and air traffic controllers applying for Class 1, 2 and 3 medical certificates. [But] there have been advances in the treatment and monitoring of the disease, allowing the control of the condition and any complications to be managed more effectively.

"The decision should allow more licensed pilots and ATCOs who have diabetes to continue to undertake operational duties safely."

The CAA emphasised that individual diabetic applicants will "be subject to a rigorous monitoring regime, including demonstrated stability of their condition, and regular blood sample self-testing during flight/duty. This is to ensure that an individual does not begin a flight or shift with too high, or too low, a sugar level, and that a safe level is maintained."

Guidance will shortly be issued to pilots and ATCOs, the CAA adds, which will set out the new procedures to follow. This includes the application of operational restrictions and in-flight testing regimes.

Turkish Technic expects to regain EU line maintenance approval by Q4

The partial suspension of Turkish Technic's EASA Part 145 maintenance approval was due to the absence of B2 engineers at line maintenance stations.
The "temporal removal" of parts of the approval - as EASA defines the suspension - affects all of the group's line maintenance stations within European Union member states, but has had no impact on Turkish Technic's base maintenance operations in Turkey.
Line maintenance customer airlines with EU-registered aircraft at the affected stations had to be referred to other third-party service providers, while the aircraft of parent carrier Turkish Airlines are covered by the national aviation authority in Turkey and so can be serviced as usual.
The relevant approval parts were suspended on 27 September 2011 after an EASA audit. "It could not be demonstrated that the organisation had any Part 66-licenced B2 [engineers]," says the Istanbul-based maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider in a letter to Flightglobal.
EASA's Part 66 defines the licence requirements for aircraft maintenance engineers. The B1 licence covers work on airframe structures, powerplants, mechanical and certain electrical systems, while B2 engineers specialise in avionic and electrical systems.
Turkish Technic hopes that its Part 145 approval will be fully reinstalled by the end of next month or early in the fourth quarter, Ahmet Çağrı Özer, strategy planning and projects manager, tells Flightglobal.
The MRO provider completed all root cause analyses for the findings and submitted "almost all" responses to EASA, after the EU authority had suggested an action plan, he adds.
A number of procedures have been revised, with EASA accepting the changes.
The line maintenance stations have been managed by parent Turkish Airlines, because the carrier wants to be directly responsible for the operations at its destinations. Line stations in Turkey have not been affected by the partial approval suspension.
Kristin Majcher contributed to this article. 

MAS temporarily shelves plans for short-haul subsidiary

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will revive plans for a new short-haul premium airline or budget carrier only after it returns to profitability.

The airline had been studying both options for over a year, but shelved them temporarily to focus on plans to stem losses from its mainline full-service carrier.

"To have a short-haul airline was in the original plan, but we have dropped it for now. At this point, everyone is fully focused to get MAS back on its feet," says the carrier's head of short-haul operations and Firefly's chief executive, Ignatius Ong.

Ong states that while MAS understands it lacks a low-cost unit to take on competition in the market segment, it will not launch new carrier until it "sees positive returns".

The group could launch a carrier with a business model in-between MAS and Firefly, similar to Thai Airways subsidiary Thai Smile, says Ong. He adds that it could also convert Firefly's current model into a low-cost carrier.

"I think the traditional thinking is to be either a full-fledged carrier or a low-cost carrier, but things are no longer as clean-cut as before," he says.

ILFC most exposed on Wind Jet’s Airbus fleet

International lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) is the most exposed operating lessor on the aircraft fleet operated by Italy’s Wind Jet, which suspended services on 12 August.

According to Flightglobal's Ascend online database Wind Jet's fleet includes five Airbus A319s and seven A320s.

ILFC owns the A319 fleet, which has an average age of 10 years. Three aircraft were leased in January 2009 for periods between six and six and a half years.

The average age of the A320 fleet is approaching 18 years. Three aircraft, built between 1996 and 1998, are owned by ILFC.

AerCap has exposure on two 1991-vintage A320s, while one 1992-vintage aircraft is owned by the TAF 2000-1 ABS portfolio. The remaining aircraft, built in 1993, is registered with PB Leasing Aircraft Leasing N 23.

The Catania-based budget carrier risks a possible operating licence suspension by the country's civil aviation regulator ENAC.

Indian insurers set to agree $50m of cover for Iranian oil ships

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• Stephanie Denton
• 13 Aug 2012
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Indian insurance companies look likely to agree to $50m cover per voyage with Iranian crude oil on risk for collision and spills.

The Hindu Business Line quotes sources in government and insurance as saying: "Talks are in positive directions and could be concluded soon and help resolve the deadlock."

Issues still believed to be outstanding in the talks between ship owners through the Indian National Ship Owners Association and insurance companies led by General Insurance Corporation include insurers' demands for an additional $20 000 'war risk premium' per voyage.

The Indian government is currently granting permission for ships carrying Iranian crude oil on a case-by-case basis.

sorry Alitalia post now viewable!

Alitalia vents fury as Wind Jet talks collapse

Courtesy of Fly Global:   DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

09:38 10 Aug 2012 

 

Alitalia's discussions to take over troubled budget operator Wind Jet have descended into acrimony, with the Italian flag-carrier accusing the smaller Sicilian-based airline of failing to meet obligations for finalising the acquisition.

In a long statement Alitalia describes the acquisition talks as having "failed", despite its willingness to amend and renegotiate terms.

Disintegration of the takeover effort comes as Wind Jet struggles to restore service reliability after it was threatened with grounding by the Italian regulator over delays and cancellations. Wind Jet has suspended its Internet site and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Alitalia says there is "no more room" for further discussions with Wind Jet, given the uncertainty involved in pursuing the acquisition.

It claims Wind Jet did not provide, by an initial 29 June deadline, enough documentation regarding its financial position which would have enabled a clear assessment of the company's value.

Absence of these documents made the takeover "very risky" but the flag-carrier says it nevertheless spent weeks renegotiating agreements - talks made more complicated by a "detrimental" set of requirements in mid-July to clear anti-trust concerns.

While Alitalia says it approved a new acquisition agreement on 7 August, based on the airline's assuming higher risks, it claims Wind Jet communicated on 9 August that it could not fulfil the obligations from this arrangement.

Alitalia also says it remained unclear over the details of certain contracts, such as that with the provider of engine maintenance, but had still been working with "commitment to reaching an agreement".